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Posts published by “Fred Gardner”

Labor Day

I’ve sung this song but I’ll sing it again, about George Meany, President of the AFL-CIO, accepting Richard Nixon’s invitation to a party at the White House instead of leading a march of union members.…

Migraine Confidential

As an activist/organizer in the medical marijuana movement, Pebbles Trippet had a vested interest in ending prohibition: she was a migraine sufferer for whom smoking the plant provided relief. Excruciating headaches had onset in childhood.…

The Boss Speaks

I’m gonna charge tariffs You’re gonna have to pay And pray for your sad little 4 0 1 K You’ll do it my way I’m gonna close food banks No more surplus cheese Until I…

My Son John Would Have Been 61 Today

This is a photo of him in 1980, when he was 16. He’d had only a few seizures at the time. I don’t know if he had started on Dilantin – the first of many…

Anecdotal Evidence

Everybody brought up to believe in the scientific method knows that anecdotal evidence is not proof. What you observed might have been a rare occurrence. I get it. I worked at Scientific American in the…

The C-Word

Zohran Mamdani winning the the Democratic Party nomination for mayor of NYC has restored hope to millions of Americans afflicted by Clinical Political Despair. Mamdani, 33, is brave, articulate, and identifies as a Democratic Socialist.…

Wasted Talent

August, 1990. One morning, towards the end of May, Dave came over to my desk and said, “Well, here’s the scoop of the year: I’ve got AIDS. I’ve given them three months’ notice.” Within a…

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